When we see records being broken and unprecedented events such as this, the onus is on those who deny any connection to climate change to prove their case. Global warming has fundamentally altered the background conditions that give rise to all weather. In the strictest sense, all weather is now connected to climate change. Kevin Trenberth

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Between 6 and 12% of the Uinta Basin’s natural gas production escaping into the atmosphere

(Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo)
Equipment in the oil fields of the Uinta Basin shown in 2012. A new
report says much more methane gas leaks from the basin's oil and gas
operations than previously believed.

Uinta Basin gas leakage far worse than most believe -- New study says up to 12% of basin’s methane escapes

by Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, August 5, 2013

Between 6 and 12% of the Uinta
Basin’s natural gas production could be escaping into the atmosphere,
far more than commonly estimated, according to a new study led by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These troubling findings emerged during
experiments conducted in February 2012 to validate a new method for
calculating how much methane is released from oil and gas fields.

"The point of the paper was to show that we
have a robust method for verifying emissions," said co-author Colm
Sweeney, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado. "The
method we’re going after is what is the actual impact to the atmosphere,
rather than guesses based on discrete measurements from a few wells."

Accepted for publication in the journal
Geophysical Research Letters, the study was conducted by the Cooperative
Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, which Colorado runs jointly with NOAA in Boulder.

The NOAA
team piggybacked its work on a study funded in part by Utah examining
ozone formation in the basin two winters ago. The team flew over the
basin at about 1,000 feet gathering air samples and readings over
several weeks.

"We used a mass balance technique, which means
we follow an air mass as it moves into the region and then flows out,"
Sweeney said. "We look at the difference in methane between those two to
determine an actual emissions rate for the region."

The study based its findings on measurements
recorded during a four-hour window Feb. 3, a calm, cloudless day that
was perfect for measuring methane concentrations. There was almost no
snow on the ground so the boundary layer over the basin was unusually
high for winter, which allowed gas field emissions to mix evenly with
the air, Sweeney said.

The basin’s oil and gas infrastructure serves 6,000 wells that account for 1% of the nation’s natural gas production.

The team found it leaked 60 tons of natural gas an hour during the February 3rd window.

"Most days we measured concentrations far
greater than what we reported in the paper," Sweeney said. The new study
was not designed to determine points of leakage.

There are plenty of potential leak sources, such as wells, processing plants, compressors and pipelines.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has
estimated that, on average nationally, just 0.8—1.6%
of natural gas production escapes. Federal officials encourage use of
natural gas because burning it emits less carbon dioxide — the leading
greenhouse gas linked to climate change — than oil or coal.

Methane, the main component of natural gas,
packs a greenhouse punch 25 times greater than carbon dioxide. That
means leakage rates exceeding 3.2% offset natural gas’ advantage
in the short term, Sweeney said.

Methane molecules, a carbon atom joined to four
hydrogen atoms, oxidize in a matter of years into carbon dioxide, so
its atmospheric impact is hardly permanent.

Industry officials noted that the nation’s
carbon emissions are near a 20-year low due in part to increased use of
natural gas, largely driven by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Oil
and gas operators have strong financial incentives to capture methane,
since losing it shrinks their revenue stream, according to the American Petroleum Institute, whose officials have yet to review the new NOAA report.

"The industry has led efforts to reduce
emissions of methane by developing new technologies and equipment, and
these efforts are paying off," spokesman Brian Straessle said in an
email. "The oil and natural gas industry invests far more money into
emission-reducing technologies than the federal government and nearly as
much as the rest of the private sector combined.